Iran
Iran is a country in Western Asia. With 82 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Its territory spans 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), making it the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world. Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance. Tehran is the political and economic center of Iran, and the largest and most populous city in Western Asia with more than 8.8 million residents in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area. Description Appearance Iran is seen with ties (any color, most of them without design like polka dots) and a business suit with a polo underneath and most likely a undershirt. Personality Iran is a very clever country and likes doing business. They are also sociable people and are good entertainers. But you can’t do business if you don’t have manners, and that’s another thing that Iran is known for. It is represented as a very macho country with women and with intentions of doubtful morality respect to other countries. Interests Iran likes the sport football. They eat there favorite food Chelo-Kabab also known as Chelow Kabab. They are interested in art as well. Flag meaning The Iranian flag of was originally adopted on July 29, 1980. The colors of the flag date to the mid-18th century; green represents Islam; white represents peace, and red means courage. While the symbol in the center of the flag means the five principles of Islam. Other symbols Since the onset of the Islamic Revolution of 1978-9 the Iranian foreign policy motto'''has been “Neither East, nor West, Islamic Republic”. The national bird of Iran is The '''Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) the Official “National bird of Iran” respectively. Nicknames Cool fonts, 9/11, king, ir@n, trump, Iran vega, Aadadw. Origin of the Language The Persian language is a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of the Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE), itself a continuation of Old Persian, which was used in the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC). It originated in the region of Fars (Persia) in southwestern Iran. Linguistically, Persian is an Indo-European language, the same family as several European languages. Culturally, it was highly impacted by Arabic (Semitic) and Turkish languages. The impact of the Persian on European language had been done through different periods of history directly and indirectly. Etymology From the time of the Sassanids (226–651 CE) Iranians have called it Iran, meaning the "Land of the Aryans" and Iranshahr. In Middle Persian sources, the name Arya and Iran is used for the pre-Sassanid Iranian empires as well as the Sassanid empire. History Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. The Medesunified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. The Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656) and the end of the Sassanid Empire was a turning point in Iranian history. Iran had been a monarchy ruled by a shah, or emperor, almost without interruption from 1501 until the 1979 Islamic revolution, when Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979. Before Iran was called Iran, and before Iranians lived there, a different group of people lived in Iran. These people were called the Elamites. The Elamites are mentioned in the Bible. The Elamites lived in a kingdom called Elam. Elam was conquered by Iranian peoples, such as the Medes (a type of Iranian), because the Elamites became weak after fighting the Assyrian people (a different people) for too long. The Iranians would then go on to conquer the Assyrians, as well. The name Iran comes from Aryan and is also mentioned in the ancient book of the Zoroastrians, which was called the Avesta. Iran means "Aryan" in Persian. In the 19th and early 20th century, the name Aryanwas used by Europeans to mean all Indo-Europeans. Around 500 BC, present-day Iran was the center of the Persian Empire. Then, Alexander the Great took the country by fighting and the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia later ruled. After them the Sassanian dynasty (224-651) took over. Other people took Persia by fighting, like the Arabs (7th century), Turks (10th century) and Mongols (13th century). However, Iran has always maintained a distinct culture and continued to survive. The Safavid dynasty (1502-1736) made Islam and Shi'a the state religion of Iran although Islam was already popular then. The latest kings of Iran were from the Pahlavi dynasty, and ruled from 1925 until 1979, when there was a revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini created an Islamic republic. In 1951, Mohammed Mossadegh was brought to power after being elected as prime ministerby nearly all members of the Majlis (parliament) in Iran. His first act in office was to take control of the oil industry in Iran which had been controlled by Great Britain. Most of Britain's oil was pumped from Iran at the time. This move was seen as a danger to Great Britain's security and empire, so they tried to overthrow the government but failed. After this they convinced the United States through diplomacy that the government of Iran was a communist threat. The CIA worked in Iran to create riots which led to the removal of Prime Minister Mossadegh. The United States and Great Britain then made the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi King of Iran, again. The Shah ruled in Iran for 38 years. When he left Iran the Iranian government was changed to an Islamic Republic by Islamic Revolution. Soon afterwards, Iranian Students Movement (Tahkim Vahdat), with the backing of the new government took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held most of the diplomats hostage for 444 days. Relations between the two countries have not been good since. For example. The US has imposed various types of economic sanctions against Iran. The US claims the Iran supports terrorist groups against Israel. Iran does not recognize Israel as a state. Iran, along with most Arab countries believe that Israel does not have the right to occupy the land of Palestinians. Iran has long borders in common with Iraq. (The words "Iran" and "Iraq" are similar only in Latin alphabet. In Arabic and Persian, they are written differently.) Iranians are ethnically not Arabs. Iran defended itself against Iraqi invasion in 1980, a war that lasted eight years. Many Arab and Western countries, including the United States provided weapons (including biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction) and technical support for Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Now, the West is trying to prevent Iran from mastering nuclear technology, even though Iran is a member of the NPT. They voice their concern claiming that Iran's intention is to develop nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported numerous times that there is no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, however, it also says that it can not say for sure that Iran is not doing so in secret. A CIA report on nuclear activity in Iran, in December 2007 claimed that Iran's secret program to achieve nuclear weapons technology was stopped in 2003, and that since then, it was never restarted. It reports that Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon will probably not happen soon. The presidential elections of 13th June 2009 were officially won by the existing president M. Ahmadinejad, but certain people do not believe this is true. There were demonstrations because of these results, and some protesters fought with police forces. Many people who demonstrated thought that the election was a fraud. Officially nine people died during the protests. Organizations and affiliations Iran is a charter member of the United Nations (UN). Although it belongs to all UN specialized agencies, the Republic has not participated as actively as the monarchy in the world organization. ... As a major oil producer and exporter, Iran is a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The influence of Iran and groups associated with it has been reinforced." Iran could find allies in Arab world comprising Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and United Arab Emirates united against Iran, with support from the United States. Politics Iran is a republic in which the president, parliament (Majles) and judicial system share powers reserved to the national government, according to its Constitution. The politics of Iran take place in a framework that officially combines elements of theocracy and presidential democracy. The December 1979 constitution, and its 1989 amendment, define the political, economic, and social order of the Islamic Republic of Iran, declaring that Shia Islam is Iran's official religion where around 90–95% of Iranians associate themselves with the Shia branch of Islam. Iran has a democratically elected president, a parliament (or Majlis), an Assembly of Experts which elects the Supreme Leader, and local councils. According to the constitution, all candidates running for these positions must be vetted by the Guardian Council before being elected. In addition, there are representatives elected from appointed organizations (usually under the Supreme Leader's control) to "protect the state's Islamic character". Government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران‎, romanized: Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as Neẓām (Persian: نظام‎, lit. 'the system'), is the ruling state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Islamic revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its constitution, adopted by a referendum, uses separation of powers model with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial systems, while the Supreme Leaderis the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. It is currently one of the four governments using the title Islamic republic. The Islamic Republic of Iran was created shortly after the Islamic Revolution. The first major demonstrations with the intent to overthrow the ShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi began in January 1978, with a new, Islam-based, theocratic Constitution being approved in December 1979, ending the monarchy. The Shah fled Iran in January 1979 after large strikes and demonstrations against him and his regime paralyzed the country. Ayatollah Khomeini would return in February of the same year after a long period of exile, greeted in the capital of Tehran by several million Iranians. Diplomacy Public diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran refers to the public relations efforts to disseminate information about the Islamic Republic of Iran. Such efforts seek to communicate with foreign publics in order to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. Instruments of public diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran include cultural exchanges, film and print media, and sports diplomacy. There is no standard definition of public diplomacy. The distinguishing factor between diplomacy and public diplomacy is the target audience. Where traditional diplomacy focuses on governments communicating with one another, public diplomacy seeks to engage foreign citizens and publics in order to change opinions and perceptions. Public diplomacy may present a point of view that differs than that of the targeted population's home government. In such cases, critics argue that public diplomacy is a new word for influence operationsand/or propaganda. Geography Geographically, Iran is located in West Asia and borders the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman. Its mountains have helped to shape both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries. The mountains enclose several broad basins, on which major agricultural and urban settlements are located. Until the 20th century, when major highways and railroads were constructed through the mountains to connect the population centers, these basins tended to be relatively isolated from one another. Iran map of Köppen climate classification zones Locator map of Iran Typically, one major town dominated each basin, and there were complex economic relationships between the town and the hundreds of villages that surrounded it. In the higher elevations of the mountains rimming the basins, tribally organized groups practiced transhumance, moving with their herds of sheep and goats between traditionally established summer and winter pastures. There are no major river systems in the country, and historically transportation was by means of caravans that followed routes traversing gaps and passes in the mountains. The mountains also impeded easy access to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. With an area of 1,648,000 square kilometres (636,000 sq mi), Iran ranks seventeenth in size among the countries of the world. Iran shares its northern borders with several post-Soviet states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. These borders extend for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi), including nearly 650 kilometres (400 mi) of water along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Iran's western borders are with Turkey in the north and Iraq in the south, terminating at the Arvand Rud. The Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman littorals form the entire 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) southern border. To the east lie Afghanistan on the north and Pakistan on the far south. Iran's diagonal distance from Azerbaijan in the northwest to Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast is approximately 2,333 kilometres (1,450 mi). Family Category:Country Category:Characters Category:Asia Category:Islamic Countries Category:Persian Countries Category:UN Members Category:Everything Category:Republics Category:Dictatorships